Knell beetle
| patron deity = | vision = Darkvision 60 ft (18.3 m), scent | activecycle = | diet = | lifespan = | location = | language = | subraces = | climate = | terrain = Underground | height = | length = Standard: 9 ft (2.7 m) Lesser: 4–5 ft (1.2–1.5 m) | weight = Standard: 1500 lb (680 kg) Lesser: 180–200 lb (81–91 kg) | skincolor = Black and red carapace | eyecolor = Black | build = | distinctions = | based = | first = }} A knell beetle is a monstrous breed of arthropod that forms warrens underground and wields great sonic powers. The lesser knell beetle is the worker drone of the species. Description It is a huge beetle-like insectoid arthropod with a shiny red and black hard carapace; this appears as though it conceals wings, but it has none. It has twelve limbs in total: ten legs descending from the thorax and two arms from the sides, which are jointed and dexterous and end in piercingly sharp hooked claws. The head part is small, holding four sharp and jagged mandibles, two small and two very long, and four beady black eyes below a chitin brow ridge. The most obvious feature of the knell beetle is its chitin horn—a massive bell- or trumpet-like structure that juts forward from the top of the head, tapering over the shoulders and flaring widely out in front of the head. This horn emits high-pitched warbling and trumpeting, faint when dormant, louder when communicating or attacking. A regular knell beetle grows up to around 9 feet (2.7 meters) long and weighs around 1500 pounds (680 kilograms). A lesser knell beetle is 4–5 feet (1.2–1.5 meters) and weighs 180–200 pounds (81–91 kilograms). Behavior As arthropods, knell beetles are mindless creatures, acting purely on instinct. Abilities The black chitinous exoskeleton and thick red carapace provide the knell beetle with a very strong and durable armor. The knell beetle is possessed of darkvision and scent, the ability to burrow through the ground, and great skills in balance, hearing, and sight. From its trumpet, once a day, a knell beetle can emit a devastating cone of sound. This sonic energy harms all creatures caught in front who cannot evade it. The regular knell beetle makes an intense chiming sound, potent up to 30 feet (9.1 meters), while the lesser knell beetle makes a weaker screech, up to 20 feet (6.1 meters). The knell beetle is entirely immune to sonic energy, and in fact is healed by it. Sonic energy can restore a knell beetle back to full health, but cannot bolster it further. Despite being weaker in most respects, the lesser knell beetle is more efficiently healed by sonic energy than the regular knell beetle. Knell beetles can thus use their chimes and screeches to heal one another. They will not resist other sonic spells and effects, however. Perhaps the knell beetle's most destructive ability is its power to shake the very earth. By making a rhythmic stomping action, they channel their internal sonic energy into the ground, causing the area around them to lurch and shudder. Beings standing in range risk being thrown to the ground. One knell beetle alone causes shaking effective up to 5 feet (1.5 meters), but multiple knell beetles stomping at once induce a resonance effect: two knell beetles 5 feet apart cause shaking effective up to 10 feet (3 meters), three knell beetles together are effective up 15 feet (4.6 meters), and so on. Knell beetles themselves are immune to this, of course, and can do it as often as they like. Combat Knell beetles attack with their vicious claws and mandibles. Worse, they can latch onto prey with both claws and rend their flesh. They can also knock over and trample a victim. Despite being simple arthropods, knell beetles fight with some brutal cunning, thought to be a remnant of their creation. And thanks to their unique abilities, knell beetles deploy with some highly organized tactics. Alone or in a group of one kind of knell beetle, they shake the ground to knock over their opponents, then charge and trample them, finally finishing them off with their bites and claws. They hold their sonic blasts in reserve, preferring to heal each other. In mixed groups, regular and lesser knell beetles instinctively adopt a distinct tactic. The lessers form a defensive line in front of the regulars, who can then encompass more knell beetles within range of their sonic chimes. The lesser knell beetles are more efficiently healed, and can fight longer than they otherwise could. Thus they often appear more resilient to other beings. Ecology Knell beetles of either kind are typically found as lone hunters or in colonies of three to twelve regulars, or in colonies of twelve to twenty-four lessers with three to twelve regulars. When a colony grows too large to be supported by an area, usually at fifty members or more, some break off to form a new colony elsewhere. Regular knell beetles focus on hunting for prey, breeding, and extending their underground warrens or founding new colonies. Lesser knell beetles, meanwhile, are the equivalent of a beehive's worker drones. They scavenge for food, build and expand nests, and fight in the frontlines to protect the colony. History Knell beetles are proposed to be an offshoot of a breed of giant beetle, mutated through overexposure to transmutation magic and sonic energy. Afterward, they flourished underground. Millennia ago, the Empire of Dhakaan was known to use knell beetles as mounts for its warrior legions. Lands Knell beetles dwell underground, in the subterranean world of Khyber. Here, they dig extensive and highly convoluted networks of tunnels, which faintly resemble those found inside anthills. Their chimes may be heard for miles through the caves. Surviving knell beetles might be found dwelling in a number of ancient Dhakaani ruins all around Khorvaire. Uses Some Underdark races employ knell beetles as mounts. Some hobgoblin and orc communities even domesticate them from time to time, making use of their greater power in numbers. Squadrons of knell beetle riders are even occasionally the elite corps of the armies of some tribes and cities, as in Dhakaan. Appendix External Links * References